U.S. Targets Venezuela’s Shadow Fleet in Final 2025 Sanctions Blitz on Maduro Regime

The U.S. Treasury Department this week imposed sanctions on four companies and identified four oil tankers as blocked property in the latest escalation of pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro regime, marking the final business day of 2025 with a clear signal that Washington’s campaign against sanctioned oil flows remains in full force.

On December 31, 2025, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the companies for operating in Venezuela’s oil sector, targeting vessels that form part of the shadow fleet serving the South American nation. The action comes as part of what the Trump administration describes as an intensified effort to choke off revenue streams that allegedly fuel narcoterrorism and destabilize the region.

“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime.”

The designated entities include Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD, associated with the tanker NORD STAR; Winky International Limited, linked to the vessel ROSALIND (also known as LUNAR TIDE); and Aries Global Investment LTD, connected to the tankers DELLA and VALIANT. All four vessels have been identified as blocked property under Executive Order 13850, which targets those operating in Venezuela’s oil sector.

The sanctions build on a foundation laid years earlier when OFAC first designated Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), in January 2019. The latest action also follows recent OFAC moves against PDVSA-linked officials, associates, and vessels in mid-December.

The timing of these sanctions aligns with a broader maritime enforcement campaign that has seen dramatic escalation in recent weeks. Earlier in December, President Trump announced what he termed a “complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring the Maduro regime a “foreign terrorist organization”. The announcement followed the U.S. seizure of the tanker Skipper, marking the first interdiction of a Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were first implemented in 2019.

The blockade targets Venezuela’s sprawling dark fleet of nearly 400 active tankers that transport sanctioned crude to China and other buyers, according to TankerTrackers.com. Only 40% of these vessels are currently under U.S. sanctions, the company noted following Trump’s announcement in December.

President Trump has overseen a growing U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, deploying additional naval and Coast Guard assets to waters near Venezuela as part of expanded counter-narcotics operations. The deployment has been described by Trump as “the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”.